LEGO® Architecture The Visual Guide: Iconic buildings re-imagined in Lego bricks

A rather over lavish production when it only shows images of twenty-two Lego models. The square format book is mostly gloss black pages (good for attracting finger prints) that examine the models. Each gets an introduction spread followed by four or five spreads that have a short essay and photo of the real building, photos of the model and with several a beautiful, fascinating exploded view with arrowed captions detailing the construction and the types of bricks used. The last spread for each model has a big colour photo of the real building and some text. It's rather unfortunate that these photos vary in quality unlike all the model photos which were taken in a studio and have a uniform look.Most of the models were created by Adam Reed Tucker, they were then worked on by builders who find the best way of producing the model using LEGO. Tucker makes a very interesting comment about the Guggenheim Museum: 'This was probably the trickiest of all the buildings in the series to interpret in LEGO bricks. The key is that the model is a representation, not an exact replica.' As they are not exact replicas excuses what I think are some of problems with the models, so many of the real buildings have curves which are difficult to create using right-angle bricks. The Guggenheim's spiral gallery is abandoned and replaced with six frisbee like shapes. The bottom to top tapering of Chicago's John Hancock Center is replaced with four reducing in thickness cubes and the distinctive lattice work on each side is gone. The buildings that I think work best are the Rockefeller Center and Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, both are essentially right-angled structures though the Villa has a large curved section on the roof but the model creates this quite successfully.It seems the model builders try to use existing LEGO bricks rather than create ones that only apply to a model and can't really be used with any LEGO. The sail like roofs of the Sydney Opera House have curved bricks mostly used for the fuselage of an aircraft or rocket ship models. It's a shame that any aerials on the top of some buildings don't have a much thinner rod like piece (look at the book's cover) those on the Empire State, Hancock Center, Willis Tower, Burj Khalifa, Seattle Space Needle and the Eiffel Tower look really out of proportion to the rest of these buildings.Will the next twenty or so models get a volume two? Possibly, though it needn't be as lavish as this one with its heavy slipcase, all the text in silver ink and basically reprinting all the information about the real building that comes with each model's construction booklet.

I have loved building the Lego Architecture sets and have wanted this book so I can delve a little deeper into the models and how they go about producing them. The book is lovely, comes in a cover/sleeve. Great diagrams inside of the models and some interesting facts about design and build. Perfect companion to go with the Architecture range.

Brilliant book, lovely, stunning, clear glossy pictures, packed with information, my son loved it. It was well worth the money. A must for the lego fan, especially if into the Lego Architecture range or anyone into architecture generally.

An excellent book as usual, like another reviewer I too feel that something is missing from this book.The design is STUNNING!but, I felt I was wanting more, it just did not sing to me.Besides, the limits of this book are bound to the buildings that LEGO has chosen for its original models. So I think that the MISTAKE lies here, as many of the building that LEGO has created I would not consider them to have been good choices... If your a historian of 20th Century Architecture, yes you will know Frank Lloyd-wrights building... But, as for "joe" public...But, if your a LEGO fan - there are far more imaginative buildings that could have been used to make this book SING!But, none of these building have been included in the architectural range of buildings that LEGO produces... thats the problem with this bookPROS::Excellent designed bookCONS::Not that many "world" recognizable buildings included.So that's the problem

Brilliant Book. I love this range of Lego and this book is a great companion to go along with this collection.

Fabulous book, heavy though. Good cross over between Lego and architecture.

My only criticism is that my copy has been bound with the cover on upside down (or the pages are bound upside down, if you prefer to see it that way).

A great introduction for anyone interested in Architecture as a possible career in the future.